Bipartisan support for toy gun restriction

Updated 11:24 pm, Thursday, March 7, 2013

HARTFORD -- Republicans and Democrats finally found a gun law they could agree on: fining people who tamper with toy guns.

Under the legislation, anyone ­-- child or adult -- who removes the bright red plug in the barrel of a toy gun to make it look more realistic could be penalized. The bill passed 9-2 in the Select Committee on Children. Next it goes to the House.

The bill would give state judges discretion on the extent of fines, and would ban the possession of look-a-like firearms, pellet guns or BB guns on school grounds.

"We need more gun-safety education and this is an important piece toward addressing that," Rep. Terrie Wood, R-Darien, said. "The tricky part is realizing that young kids, particularly boys, want to take all those safety features off, but it's a chance to educate, saying that this is important. There are a lot of conversations going on about gun violence and this is just one of them."

Wood, a committee member, said it's important to extend the public discussion about gun violence to homes with children.

Rep. Kim Fawcett, D-Fairfield, vice chairman of the committee, said there are already laws against bringing so-called facsimile guns into schools.

"This is broadening the statute to include what we're defining as look-alike firearms," she said. "More and more manufacturers of look-alike firearms, which are essentially toys, have made them look like real guns. Kids are used to purchasing them in stores freely and without any kind of permit, and carry them freely because they're not real guns, but they're incredibly dangerous because they look like real guns."

The bill had been submitted in previous years, but failed despite a close call at Stonington High School, said Carroll Hughes, lobbyist for the state's police chiefs. In 2011, one student pointed a realistic toy pistol at another just as a police officer was arriving. The officer came very close to shooting the student who held the toy.

"The call came in as someone with a gun," Hughes recalled.

Last year, a similar proposal met with hostility from Connecticut's gun lobby, he said. "I think this year it's even more important because of the reaction people would have."

Hughes said that kids who play with Airsoft rifles, which look realistic, but shoot soft pellets, should always lay down their arms if a police officer approaches.

"I tell the kids, `drop that weapon.' (An officer) doesn't know what it is and he doesn't know what he's up against," Hughes said.